Chosen Solution
There is a loose metal tab which is preventing any thunderbolt device from connecting properly. This appears to be an assembly issue as all I’ve done is use external hard drives or tethered cameras. I’m being quoted £600 to replace the logic board which is outrageous. Is there a a cheaper fix?
What happened is a cable was inserted which for some reason snagged the connectors contact (which is what you are seeing). So basically the connector is broken ;-{ Now the fun part replacing the connector! As it turns out the connectors are fastened onto the main logic board. Here you can see them:
Here is the back side of the board
It’s a lot of work to get these off and you can’t buy them as they are a custom part. Which is why you end up needing to replace the complete logic board. I would go to a Apple Store and have them do it as you should be able to ask for the bench fee (flat rate) plus parts costs which should be the cheapest you can go.
Check this video on youtube it will be helpful to tighten your port https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_ruqSrk…
I realize this is an old post, but if you still have this laptop and still haven’t found a fix (or someone else has this issue): From your photo, it appears that the bent metal tab isn’t one of the contacts from the connector. It appears to be part of the surrounding frame for the port that got bent down towards the connectors contacts. (It may be the ground contact that needs to touch the outside of the thunderbolt cable’s connector.) It appears to be short circuiting with the contacts in the center of the connector. I would try bending it up and trying to get it flush with the upper inside surface of the opening.
